


I see fire

by birman



Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, vixx - au, vixx - fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 16:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20067103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birman/pseuds/birman
Summary: please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)





	I see fire

**Author's Note:**

> please note: this is an old fic I had uploaded here on ao3 some time ago under the pseud myridiel, and then taken down once I had basically left the vixx/kpop fandom and was not longer interested in keeping them up.   
I’m re-uploading all my vixx fics because… I don’t know, someone might feel like reading them I guess? lol, anyway have fun if you do ;)

Jaehwan had always been told to keep out the forest at the edge of the realm. It was too dangerous even for the bravest of the knights of the kingdom, his mother said.   
Because of the dragons. 

Dragons or not, Jaehwan thought, this time he'll have to disobey his mother if he wanted to stay alive.   
He ran as fast as he could through the trees, the light of day quickly dimming and making his escape even trickier. 

People were still following him. Jaehwan just wanted to stop and cry, but knew it wasn't the best of ideas right now.   
Suddenly, his foot slipped on the uneven ground and he fell forward, rolling down a slope he hadn't seen in his rush.   
Small rocks and branches scratched his arms and face as he kept falling, unable to stop.   
When he finally reached the end of the slope, he got on his feet with a loud groan. He was aching all over, and it felt like he had a split lip.   
His muscles hurt like crazy, but he could still hear the voices of his pursuers. He couldn't stop. 

He took a look at his surroundings: he was standing in a small, clearing, trapped between the thick forest on one side and the foot of the mountain on the other.   
The slope Jaehwan had fallen from was steeper than he thought at first, making it almost impossible to climb back. Not that he could go back there, anyway.   
On the mountain wall on the other side he could see a cave opening, bigger than any other cave Jaehwan had ever seen, its inside pitch black.   
Jaehwan shivered: in other circumstances, he would never think about getting near such a place, but it didn't look like he had much of a choice right now... 

“There he is!” a voice boomed behind him.   
“Come on little prince, be a good boy and just surrender.”   
Jaehwan spun around to face the bandits who were chasing him: “What do you want from me? Leave me alone!”   
“No can do, your highness.” one of the men chuckled, sliding down the slope and reaching the clearing safely. “I'm sure the king and queen will pay quite a large sum to have their precious son back.” 

Jaehwan took a step back, towards the cave, then another. He couldn't possibly think of overcome five men on his own.   
He felt like crying: “Somebody... please help…” he said under his breath, knowing full well that there was no-one around that could help him. 

Suddenly, a low rumble filled the air. Both Jaehwan and the bandits stopped moving, looking around for the cause of that noise.   
“What... was that? An earthquake?”   
“Don't be stupid, it was probably just a rock falling from the side of the mountain.”  
The noise resonated once again, and this time it sounded... closer.  
The prince thought it sounded like very, very heavy steps that made the ground shake. 

“Move.” a low growl came from right behind Jaehwan, from the darkness of the cave.   
Jaehwan didn't need to be told twice: he ducked to the side, and watched with wide eyes as a huge black dragon emerged from the depths of the cave, earth shaking with each step it took.   
The bandits stood frozen on the spot for a moment, then turned around and ran into the forest.   
Or tried to. 

The dragon caught two in its mouth with a quick swipe of its head, bit into them a couple of times with a sickening crunch of broken bones and then swallowed them.   
The remaining three had unsuccessfully tried to climb the slope behind them only to slide back down, and now they just stood facing the dragon, swords unsheathed, but their hands were shaking so much that they almost dropped them. 

The dragon let out what sounded like a deep chuckle, then, before any of the men could react, it breathed a powerful jet of flames against them.   
When the smoke disappeared, Jaehwan could only see three black soot spots against the rock where the bandits used to stand, and small heaps of ashes on the ground. 

The dragon turned around, its steps sounding louder now in the silence.   
Jaehwan was still staring, wide-eyed. He had fallen on the ground, and as the dragon moved closer, he tried to scoot away, bumping against the rock of the mountain wall.   
“P-please don't hurt me.” he stuttered, eyes glued to the giant beast as it walked closer.   
The dragon looked at him and tilted its head: “You wanted help, I helped you. Why would I hurt you now?” it rumbled.   
Jaehwan blinked: “Oh... t-thanks then.”  
He wasn't definitely expecting those words. 

The dragon walked inside the cave, and before it disappeared in the darkness, it talked to Jaehwan once again: “Come in. You're all bruised and it's getting dark, it'd be difficult to go back home now.”   
Jaehwan scrambled to his feet after quickly considering his options: clearly, being in a dark cave with a giant, talking dragon was definitely better than being in an unknown dark forest full of hungry beasts.   
At least Jaehwan was sure the dragon had had dinner already... 

The dragon was walking quite slowly: Jaehwan wasn't sure if this was its usual speed or if it was trying to be considerate of him, but he never lost sight of it (not that it was hard to lose sight of a beast that big...), and after a few minutes they reached a huge room in the belly of the mountain.   
“Make yourself comfortable.” the dragon said. 

Jaehwan's eyes were wide as he took in the room: he couldn't see any torch or fire burning, but the whole cave was immersed in a soft, pale light. Looking closer, Jaehwan saw tiny, glowing mushrooms growing on the walls and corners of the cave, giving the place its pretty, albeit a little eerie, look.   
But this unique lighting wasn’t the only peculiarity of the place: all over the walls, as if sprouting from the rock itself, there was a myriad of gems of different colours. The faint light emanating from the mushrooms made the gems sparkle, thus turning the cave into an unusual jewel box. 

“You can use the bed over there.” the dragon went on, shaking Jaehwan from his stupor.   
He looked in a corner where a bed was pushed up against a wall, its covers made and untouched. It looked rather out of place.   
A bed in a dragon's lair? Jaehwan was a little too scared to ask why, so he just walked over it and sat down. 

“Uhm... thank you again. For saving me, and for letting me stay.” he said in a small voice, still intimidated by the beast. “I'm sure my parents will be very grateful and will reward you generously.”   
The dragon chuckled as it lay down on the opposite side of the cave, probably putting some distance between them so not to scare Jaehwan too much. 

“I didn't save you for a reward. Besides,” it raised its head and huffed, a thin plume of smoke escaping its nostrils, “what use would money be to me?”  
“But I thought dragons loved gold and treasures?” Jaehwan blurted out before he could stop himself.   
“Some of us do, I won't deny it. I’m not one of those though, I treasure my quiet way more than gold.” It tilted its head, “What were you doing in the forest all alone anyway?”  
“I was coming back from a journey to the neighbouring city. I was riding with other people, but the bandits set a trap for us, and I ran into the forest, trying to get away from them.”  
The dragon nodded, satisfied, then curled up again and closed its eyes, only to snap them open a moment later, scaring Jaehwan who had been staring at it.   
“I'm such a bad host, forgive me, it's been so long since I've had guests over. You must be hungry, right?”

It stood up again and began walking back to the exit. “I'll go get you something to eat right away, I hope you like your meat well-done.”  
It turned around to look at Jaehwan, its head pointing to a corridor on one of the walls: “If you go that way you'll get to a hot water pool where you can wash up, and there are some spare clothes in the trunk by the bed.” 

With this it left, leaving Jaehwan utterly puzzled once again.   
Why would a dragon keep spare clothes in its cave? Did they belong to people it ate?   
Trying to keep these thoughts out of his mind, Jaehwan decided he could definitely use a bath, after all. He was still scraped and bruised from the chase in the woods, and his clothes were all torn and dirty. 

The pool was in a smaller cave, and the room itself was beautiful, the water adding new effects to the soft light of the glowing mushrooms and the coloured reflections of the gems on the walls.   
Jaehwan sighed as he lowered himself into the pool, the warm water soothing his aching muscles.   
He held his breath and dipped into the pool, scrubbing his face and hair before resurfacing. His split lip stung a little, and so did the small bruises on his face, but the pain felt strangely good. It reminded him that he was still alive, after all. 

Jaehwan washed quickly and got out of the pool.   
He would have stayed in the warm water a lot longer if he could, but he thought he should be ready for when the dragon returned. He picked up his clothes and ran to the main room, shivering. It sure was warmer when the dragon was around. 

He chose a pair of brown pants and a soft white shirt from the trunk and got dressed.   
They didn't fit perfectly like the tailored clothes he usually wore, but they were rather comfortable. He definitely wasn't going to complain, given the situation. 

He had just finished when he heard the dragon's steps resonating in the cave.   
It came into the main room with what looked like a roasted rabbit delicately held between its teeth. Jaehwan couldn't help but notice how sharp they looked.   
“Here. Eat up.” It rumbled, letting the meat fall into Jaehwan's hands. 

It was still warm and the smell made his stomach growl, reminding him just how hungry he really was. Jaehwan gave it an experimental bite: it lacked all the spices and overall the sophisticated taste he was used to, but right now he ate it as if it was the most delicious meal he'd ever had.   
The dragon had returned to its corner of the cave and now was looking at him, with what Jaehwan thought was a rather pleased look. 

He thanked the dragon again when he had finished eating, then lay on the bed, closing his eyes and trying to get some sleep.   
He was tired, but, perhaps because of all the commotion or the weird light suffusing the cave, he couldn't fall asleep, and just kept turning restlessly in his bed. 

“Is the bed not comfortable enough?” the dragon asked after a while.   
Jaehwan lifted his head to look at the beast, but it was still curled up in its corner, eyes closed like it was sleeping.   
“N-no... it's perfectly fine. It's-it's just... I'm not used to it.”   
Letting out a low chuckle, the dragon cracked one eye open: “Still, you should try and rest a little. What will your people think if you get home bruised and with dark circles under your eyes? It'd be hard to convince them it's not my fault.”  
Jaehwan opened and closed his mouth a few times, but couldn't find a good reply. The dragon chuckled again and Jaehwan felt his face grow warm. He turned his back to the beast and closed his eyes once again, eventually falling asleep. 

He woke up to something poking his side, and when he opened his eyes he almost screamed: the dragon had its snout right next to Jaehwan's face and he jumped back, barely avoiding hitting his head on the rocky wall behind him.   
The dragon moved back and chuckled: “Get up, it's morning already.”   
“I thought you wanted to take me back to my family, not scare me to death!” he glared at the beast, who simply grinned back at him, fangs bared just a little. 

Jaehwan shivered and quickly jumped out of bed, the dragon's laughter echoing in the cave.   
“I'm going to hunt something for breakfast, you get ready. We'll leave as soon as you've fed.”  
Jaehwan shuffled to the pool to wash, mumbling something about 'eating, not feeding, I'm not an animal', while the dragon left the cave, its heavy steps resonating in the room. 

When he was finally was ready to leave, they walked to the clearing in front of the cave, Jaehwan enjoying the fresh morning air and basking in the sunlight.   
“Uhm…” he began, turning to look at the beast, “how am I to go back? Will you show me the way out of the forest?”   
The dragon stretched its wings and looked back at its guest: “Hop on, we'll fly there. It'll be far easier than walk all the way through the woods.”  
Jaehwan blinked and stared at the huge dragon: in the sunlight, its black scales were glinting from black to deep purple to even silver, and Jaehwan couldn't help but think it was really a magnificent beast. 

The dragon bent its long neck and gently nudged him with its snout. Jaehwan skipped to where the beast was lying flat on the ground and climbed on its back, settling between its wings, arms wrapped around its neck.   
The dragon looked up and got ready to take flight, when it suddenly stopped and glanced back at Jaehwan: “Uhm... where exactly do you live?”  
Jaehwan looked up at him, mouth agape, for a few moments before bursting out laughing.   
“Don't laugh…” the dragon mumbled, shaking its head in embarrassment.   
“Sorry, sorry... that was very rude of me.” Jaehwan replied when he finally got his breath back. “My parents are the rulers of the city beyond the forest, I am their youngest son. But... how can we get there? You can't possibly land in the middle of the castle yard.”  
“Well, no.”   
The dragon swung its tail lazily from side to side while it thought: “How about I fly to the end of the forest, prince? The main road to the city is not far from there. I'm sure there are soldiers looking for you all over by now, and hopefully I won't be noticed much, nobody lives there.”

Jaehwan agreed and they set off, the alien feeling of being up in the air making Jaehwan yelp and cling to the hard, warm scaly body of the dragon.   
“I hope your eyes are not closed.” the dragon rumbled, “You'd miss the view.”  
Jaehwan did in fact have his eyes closed, but he slowly opened them and looked over the dragon's body, at the woods quickly moving below them.   
A smile slowly spread on his face: “It's beautiful…”  
He could see the trees thin and give room to the fields outside the city, and knew they were already at the end of their journey. 

As those thoughts crossed his mind, the dragon began its descent towards the edge of the forest, and Jaehwan strengthened his grasp on his neck so as not to fall.   
“You've been of great help to me.” Jaehwan smiled at the dragon when he was on solid ground once again. “Is there any way I can reward you?”  
“Thank you, but like I told you already I don't-”  
The dragon was cut off by a clanking noise that quickly grew as it got near, till they could see a group of soldiers, led by two men on horses, that stopped only a few metres from them, pointing their weapons at the beast. 

“Jaehwan, get away from that monster!” One of the horsemen shouted, taking a few steps towards them and unsheathing his sword.   
“He's my older brother!” Jaehwan exclaimed, looking back and forth from the soldier and the dragon. “They were looking for me, I can go home now!”  
The horseman got nearer, beckoning Jaehwan to get to his side, while pointing his sword at the dragon at the same time.   
“Come, Jaehwan. Our parents are waiting for you at the castle once we deal with this hideous worm.”   
“Brother, this dragon- ...wait, _what_? No, no! You've got it all wrong!”  
Jaehwan took a step back, closer to the dragon this time, and his brother huffed: “I told you to come over here, Jaehwan. We can't let such a dangerous beast roam free.”  
“This dragon's my friend! He saved me, you can't kill it!”

Behind him, the dragon was letting out a low, menacing growl. Jaehwan ran to its side and put his hands on its long neck, trying to placate it.   
“Jaehwan! Stop being so stubborn and obey me!” Jaehwan's brother scowled at him, hand stretched out.   
“I'm not being stubborn! If you would only listen to me…”  
“There's nothing to listen to, Jaehwan! Dragons are evil creatures, and you must be under its spell.” 

The dragon snorted, letting out tiny puffs of smoke from its snout, while Jaehwan made an affronted choked noise at the back of his throat.   
“Heavens... when will you and father stop thinking I'm such a simpleton? You never listen to anything I have to say!”  
“Listen to us, Jaehwan! We have more experience, we know better! Now be a good boy and get away from that beast…”

Jaehwan was fuming. He gritted his teeth and made a sign for the dragon to let him climb on its back again.   
“Jaehwan! What are you doing? I order you-”   
“You can't order me to do anything! Go back to father and tell him I'll come home only when you start treating me like an adult! Dragon, let's go.”   
The dragon chuckled and flapped its wings, taking off. 

Jaehwan watched as the soldiers on the ground began shouting, some of them shooting their arrows in the sky, but the dragon was fast and they were already out of reach.   
When they landed in front of the cave, Jaehwan slid on the ground and stomped off inside. He sat down heavily on the bed and screamed in frustration, taking his face in his hands. 

The dragon had quietly followed, and now was sitting by its usual spot, looking at Jaehwan.   
“What are you going to do now, prince?” it asked quietly.   
“Please, call me Jaehwan. I kinda hate the whole 'your majesty' thing. It doesn't really suit me.”  
“Very well, Jaehwan. Will you be alright in my cave? It's not exactly a castle…”  
Jaehwan rubbed his hands on his face and sighed: “I'm sorry I'm imposing on you like this... Will you let me stay for a while? If I go back home…”  
The dragon chuckled: “Yes, I can see why you wouldn't want to go back. Stay as long as you like, I hope I can still remember how to treat a guest properly.”  
Jaehwan smiled, relieved: “Thank you, dragon.”  
“Wonshik... my name is Wonshik.”  
“Thank you, Wonshik.”

Jaehwan looked at the ground, troubled: “Do you think we'll be safe here? I would hate for you to have any trouble because of me.”  
“Don't worry, dragons are magical creatures. We have ways to disguise ourselves and our homes, they'll never find us.”  
Jaehwan thought about it and nodded: “Makes sense. I'll try and not be in your way while I'm here.”

The following day, Wonshik called Jaehwan to the entrance of the cave: from there, faint shouts from the woods could be heard. It was clearly a searching party for Jaehwan.   
The prince moved closer to the dragon, worry in his eyes: “Are you sure they won't find us?”  
Wonshik just laughed quietly: “Have some faith in me. The cave is concealed by magic, all they would see if they looked this way is the bare rock of the mountain side.”  
Jaehwan bit his lip, still a little worried, but nodded and kept looking at the woods. The shouting eventually faded away, and Jaehwan sighed, relieved. 

The same scene repeated itself for a couple more days, after which the soldiers combing the forest seemed to move to another side of the woods, as they clearly were not finding what they were looking for there.   
Jaehwan didn't think it possible, but he felt really comfortable in the cave, together with Wonshik the dragon.   
A week, and then two, easily went by. 

One morning, when Jaehwan had just taken a bath while Wonshik was out hunting, he heard noises coming from the entrance of the cave.   
Jaehwan could hear footsteps and someone talking, and he panicked. Could someone have found the cave, despite of what Wonshik said? 

He was still worrying about what to do, looking around for something to use as a weapon, when the intruder stepped into the room.   
It was a boy about the same age of Jaehwan, dark hair and golden skin, dressed in soft-looking brown and moss green clothes. 

Right behind him, another man walked in. He was almost wild-looking, with jet-black hair falling in front of his eyes and dark grey clothes.   
They all froze in surprise and stared at each other for a moment, too stunned to react.   
“W-who are you?” Jaehwan almost screamed, breaking the silence.   
“I should be asking that! What are you doing in Wonshik's cave?” the tanned man replied, much more calmly than Jaehwan.   
“You-you know Wonshik?”

The two strangers looked briefly at each other and then back at Jaehwan, looking him over. Then the dark-skinned boy took a step forward, a bright smile spreading on his face: “Sure we do! I apologize, it's so unusual for Wonshik to have guests that we never thought we could find someone here. I'm Hakyeon, and this one here behind me is Taekwoon. He's Wonshik's older brother.”  
“Nice to meet you, I'm Jaehwan. Wonshik saved me some time ago and now- wait, did you say _his brother_?”  
“Yeah... I know they don't look that much alike, but…”  
“You can say that! Wonshik's a lot... scalier, for sure.”  
Hakyeon frowned and stared at Jaehwan, who very much felt like squirming.   
“How long have you been living with Wonshik, Jaehwan?” he finally asked.   
Jaehwan thought for a moment: “Hmmm... around three weeks I think?”

Hakyeon huffed and Jaehwan could clearly see he was annoyed. Had he said something he shouldn't have? Was he not supposed to be here?   
He heard Hakyeon mutter 'that idiot...' under his breath, but stopped from asking any more questions because he saw Taekwoon sharply turn towards the entrance of the cave.   
“He's back.” he murmured in a soft, quiet tone.   
And, surely enough, they heard Wonshik land outside the cave, its heavy steps echoing as it made its way in. 

It was barely inside the room that Hakyeon was already marching towards it, glowering: “Wonshik!”  
Jaehwan thought he saw the dragon widen its eyes in fear and try to back away, but Taekwoon had closed in and put one of his hands on its body: “No escaping this time, brother.”  
Wonshik's giant body seemed to deflate somehow: “Taekwoon, Hakyeon... I see you've already met Jaehwan.”

Hakyeon was still glaring at Wonshik, arms crossed in front of his chest. Jaehwan almost expected him to start tapping his foot in annoyance anytime now.   
“Wonshik... explain _this_.” he growled, arm stretched and hand moving between the dragon and Jaehwan, who still didn't dare say anything.   
Wonshik let out a tiny whine before speaking: “Yes... well…”  
“Wonshik!” Hakyeon went on, “He's been living here for almost a month and you told him nothing? Show him. _Now_.”

The dragon looked back at Taekwoon, who was quietly smiling while leaning on the rock wall.   
“Brother... help?”  
“No way, you brought this on yourself. And I don't want him to start nagging at me once we get home.”  
Wonshik grumbled, then its body... began to shrink and shift.   
Jaehwan's eyes were wide as he watched Wonshik rapidly change shape, till a man was standing where before a dragon was.   
The man... no, Wonshik, was tall and slender with soft black hair, droopy eyes and a small mouth. And completely naked. 

Jaehwan gaped as he watched him slowly walk to the chest by the bed and fish out some clothes, all in black.   
He was still staring when he felt fingers under his chin, gently closing his mouth.   
“I know the feeling, I had the same reaction the first time I saw Taekwoon.” Hakyeon chuckled next to him. 

Once Wonshik was dressed, they all sat down in the main cave.   
“Why haven't you told him anything, Wonshik?” Hakyeon was still glaring at Wonshik, clearly annoyed.   
Wonshik threw a bashful look at Jaehwan before speaking: “Well... he was only supposed to stay here for one night, but then... I didn't want to make things awkward, he only knew me as a dragon and I only have one bed and all…” He covered his face with his hands and groaned: “I'm sorry, Jaehwan.”

Jaehwan was still staring at this new version of Wonshik, and at his words he looked back to the bed, things finally clicking into place in his mind.   
“Oh... oh, I apologize as well, I didn't really leave you much choice, did I? I'd better find myself a new accommodation, so you can have your cave back.”  
He looked down at his folded hands in his lap: “But I really don't want to go back home, what should I do…” he murmured dejectedly. 

Wonshik put his hand on Jaehwan's and smiled: “There's no need for you to leave.”  
“But…”  
“We'll figure this out, don't worry.”  
Jaehwan smiled back, and nodded in thanks. 

Hakyeon exchanged a glance with Taekwoon and grinned: “Well, we came only to check on Wonshik, and now that we know he's fine, I guess we can go back to our own home, right Taekwoon?”  
“What? So soon?” Wonshik snapped his head up at those words. “Stay longer, I’ve been out hunting, we can eat together…”  
“No, it's alright.” Hakyeon replied as he stood, followed by Taekwoon. “You're invited for dinner at our place one of these nights though, both of you. But I have to warn you: your brother has picked up even more stray cats. Sometimes I think he's trying to get rid of me and keep just them instead.”  
Jaehwan smiled as he heard Taekwoon whisper a quiet 'they don't nag', to which Hakyeon replied with an unimpressed, unamused look. 

When Wonshik and Jaehwan were left alone once again, an awkward silence stretched between them, neither of them sure of what to do or say.   
“Your brother... and Hakyeon... they're nice.” Jaehwan finally said.   
Wonshik chuckled, a rich, deep sound that Jaehwan found very similar to the one the dragon used to make.   
The thought made him feel weirdly comfortable, as if he hadn't truly realized until now that the man sitting next to him and the huge beast were indeed the same being. 

“Yes, I guess they are. Taekwoon is a man of few words, while Hakyeon speaks way too much for his own good... but I guess they do look after me in their own way. I think they like you.” He grinned, stealing a glance at Jaehwan.   
“They do? How can you tell?”  
“Well, they've always been worried about me being up here alone all this time. They wouldn't have left so soon if they didn't think you were trustworthy.” He shook his head, snorting lightly: “I mean, not like I'm a big scaly dragon that could scare a whole town away in the blink of an eye, right?”

Jaehwan smiled and looked down, his hands playing with the hem of his shirt: “You're truly family... I wish I had one like yours.”  
“Oh... I'm sorry.”  
“Don't be. My father's too busy being the king, my mother loves us but she never really tried to talk to me, and neither did my brothers, as you could see. They... don't understand that I might want something else other than what I'm supposed to be. Which is not much, really, since I'm not even the heir to the throne. But I don't want to just stay inside the castle forever.”

“I don't know if it's enough,” Wonshik mumbled, putting his hand on top of Jaehwan's and squeezing lightly, “but you have a friend here. And I'm sure Hakyeon would love to treat you like a younger brother as well, if you stick around.”  
“Hakyeon's... not a dragon, right?”  
“No, he's not. He's a hunter, my brother helped him out one day, and they pretty much stuck together since then. Them, and the horde of cats Taekwoon's been rescuing everywhere.”  
Wonshik laughed, and Jaehwan immediately joined him as images of Hakyeon nagging at Taekwoon and the cats popped up in his mind. 

“Are you hungry?” Wonshik asked, getting to his feet. “I caught a boar earlier, it’s still outside. I'm going to roast it and then we can eat.”  
Jaehwan nodded and got up as well, running after Wonshik to lend a hand.

The rest of the day rolled by quickly, and soon it was night again.   
Jaehwan eyed the bed with a frown, deep in thought.   
“I'll make another bed tomorrow. Just sleep here like you've done until now.” Wonshik said from behind him.   
“But it's your bed!” Jaehwan argued back, clearly distressed over the fact that he'd been imposing so heavily on Wonshik, even if unknowingly.   
“Don't worry about it, I'll just turn back into a dragon and sleep in the corner like usual.”  
“Please don't! I mean... if you're more comfortable being a dragon, by all means do it, but... it's nice having you around... as a human.”  
Wonshik smiled, then nudged Jaehwan towards the bed: “Come on, time to sleep. I'm sure the bed's big enough for both of us, if you don't mind sharing.”   
They both slipped under the covers and turned their backs to each other, but, while Wonshik immediately lay still, his breath even, Jaehwan kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. 

“Jaehwan?” Wonshik's voice suddenly broke the silence. “I'll protect you from whoever will come looking for you, if you wish to remain here. So... I know I’ve said this before, but don't worry about anything, you're free to stay for as long as you like. I... rather enjoy your company.”

Jaehwan turned around, surprised, but Wonshik hadn't moved. He smiled fondly at his friend's back before resuming his sleeping position and closing his eyes: “Thank you, I do too.”


End file.
